Hillary Wolf ‘95 was just 13-years-old when she appeared in Chris Columbus’s “Home Alone” as one of Kevin’s sisters, Megan McCallister. Starring in “Big Girls Don’t Cry…They Get Even” as Laura Chartoff just two years later, Wolf did not chase life on the screen. Instead, she became a two-time Olympian in judo.

When her older brother, Brett Wolf ‘91, was around five years old, he began the sport of judo. Hillary would attend his practices and sit on the side and watch, before eventually getting on the mats on the side of practice. She wanted in.

She went to her parents and asked if she could sign up, but she didn’t get the answer she hoped. Wolf was to do ballet, not the same sport her brother did. “My parents fought it for a while because maybe they didn’t think it was a sport as much for girls,” Wolf said. “It’s so much more acceptable to be a female now in judo and wrestling than before. As time went on people saw that if you allow women to do the same sports as men, eventually it becomes as competitive.”

Traveling nationally for judo at the same time as acting in movies didn’t seem to be a problem when Wolf was young, but as she got older her dad realized that she didn’t lose often. She competed in Junior Nationals each year until age 13. When she was 14 her dad suggested that she go to Senior Nationals, where athletes compete to qualify for the Olympic team.

Wolf ended up winning Senior Nationals at age 14, and what originally seemed like a long-shot actually proved to be the reason she left acting to pursue judo full time. “That was when I realized why it was that I could go to the Olympics,” Wolf said. “So at 14 that was a huge turning point when I saw the potential of my athletic career down the road.” 

From then on, her routine consisted of trainers before school and judo clubs after school and on weekends. She was training every day, and when she was 17, she won Junior Worlds, an accomplishment no American man or woman had ever achieved at the time.

Brett Wolf is the sensei of Wolf Judo, a judo dojo here in Chicago.

“We were close, and I saw how hard she worked to achieve what she was achieving in the sport. I was probably, I’d like to think, one of her biggest fans,” Brett Wolf said. “I’m a big fan of what she accomplished and more importantly, the hard work she put in and the sacrifices she made to accomplish what she was able to accomplish.”

According to Brett Wolf, Hillary Wolf showed potential from a young age. “You never 100% know what the big picture potential is as far as senior Judo,” Brett Wolf said, “but she, from the get-go, was really successful. And, you know, a lot of people felt like she was going to do great things.”

Hillary Wolf married a wrestler after her retirement from judo at just 23 years old and her life since has shifted more to wrestling than judo. She has gotten her kids into wrestling but still comes down to Wolf Judo to help out when she is able.

While Hillary Wolf did not continue with judo full-time into her professional life as her brother, she says that it prepared her for the rest of her life. “Difficult circumstances, difficult losses,” Wolf said. “All those things prepare you for dealing with life.”

Junior Gabe Wrubel––a lifetime member of Wolf Judo who has had great success in competitive judo, being titled National Champion in 2016––has always enjoyed the tips given to him by Hillary Wolf when she is helping out in practices or alongside the mat during a match. “I’ve had the opportunity to talk to her at tournaments,” Wrubel said, “and for her to coach me in between fights is like little pieces of wisdom that you don’t forget because she’s such a successful person.”

Wolf is grateful for the experience she had at Parker and believes it has helped her in her career. “Parker taught me to have an open mind and learn from people and experiences around me,” Wolf said. “Parker, especially I think, embraces loving learning from the world around you. Just having a curious mind, not going through life just sleepwalking, but really being involved and making a difference.”

She encourages all parents to let their kids do activities such as judo to strengthen their character. “If your kid is interested at all in any type of combat sport, let them do it,” Wolf said. “It’s a different type of struggle doing a combat sport than playing soccer. It teaches you a lot about life in general and really giving your best effort.”

Wolf stresses that judo is more than just a sport for accolades—it builds resilience that helps later in life. “A famous wrestler named Dan Gable said, ‘Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy,’ and I say the same thing about judo,” Wolf said. “It’s just a great preparation for seeing how things could be and proving to yourself that you’re able to get through them.”